According to Reuters, Amazon is preparing for another round of large-scale layoffs, with around 14,000 internal positions scheduled to be cut starting next week. This will be Amazon’s second major layoff since October 2025, and will bring the total planned layoffs to approximately 30,000, making it the largest layoff in Amazon’s 30-year history.The e-commerce giant originally cut about 14,000 white-collar jobs in October, and the next round is expected to reflect that size. Employees at Amazon Web Services (AWS), retail operations, Prime Video, and the human resources department, known internally as People Experience and Technology (PXT), are likely to be affected, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
CEOs shift the narrative from AI to culture
Amazon’s October job cuts were initially attributed to the transformative impact of artificial intelligence, but CEO Andy Jassy later revealed the real motive during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. “It’s not really finance-driven, it’s not really AI-driven. It’s culture,” Jassy explained, noting that excessive bureaucracy and organizational bloat are the main concerns.Analysts say the contradictory messages highlight Amazon’s struggle to communicate its restructuring strategy. In an October memo, the company described AI as “the most transformative technology since the Internet,” suggesting it was driving faster innovation and organizational transformation. But Jassy’s subsequent comments reframed the layoffs as an effort to eliminate multiple layers of management and restore the company’s startup-like agility.
Amazon to cut staff due to strong performance
The planned job cuts represent nearly 10% of Amazon’s roughly 350,000 employees, but less than 2% of the company’s total workforce of 1.58 million, most of whom work in warehouses and fulfillment centers.Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of PXT, acknowledged the discrepancy in an internal memo, saying, “Some may wonder why we would reduce the role when the company is doing so well.” He stressed that staying competitive requires “leaner organization with fewer layers and more ownership.”Employees affected in the October round will have 90 days to find internal employment or seek external employment, which expires on Monday. The company is offering similar support for future cuts, including severance pay, outplacement services and extended health insurance benefits.Jassy has also introduced an anonymous complaint system to identify inefficiencies. This resulted in over 1,500 responses and over 450 process changes. The CEO’s broader efforts include a strict five-day in-office requirement, one of the strictest return-to-office policies in the tech industry, but people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the voluntary attrition that Amazon had expected has not occurred.
